Grand Island Police Officer Assaulted During Traffic Stop

GRAND ISLAND- On Wednesday at 8:34pm, a Grand Island Police Officer observed a vehicle, northbound on Broadwell Ave, fail to signal before turning eastbound onto 4th St.

During a traffic stop, the male driver was contacted and refused to give any documentation for the vehicle or himself. An officer removed the male’s seatbelt and attempted to extract the male from the vehicle but he resisted and pulled away from the officer. The male then put the vehicle in drive and accelerated at a high rate of speed with the officer still engaged with him. The officer was able to disengage with the vehicle while sustaining injuries from the vehicle. The vehicle continued accelerating at a high rate of speed away from the traffic stop in a residential area.

The driver, Juan Lucas Mejia, was arrested for Flight to Avoid Arrest, Assault on Officer 2nd Degree, Driving During Revocation, Resisting Arrest, Obstructing Police Officer, Window Tint Violation and Fail to Signal.